Georgia Tech Basketball: Yellow Jackets Search for First ACC win Against Pittsburgh Panthers
The issues are well documented for Brian Gregory and his Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-7, 0-4 ACC).
Georgia Tech will attempt to overcome those issues this weekend when they travel to Pittsburgh to face head coach Jamie Dixon and the Pittsburgh Panthers (12-5, 2-2 ACC) .
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
This game will matchup the stability and surety of Pittsburgh against the instability and unsureness of Georgia Tech.
Pittsburgh has a couple wins in league play so far. They beat Boston College on January 6th by a point 61-60, and are coming off a home win over Florida State 73-64 on Wednesday.
Jamie Dixon is bringing a team with a different look from last season to the court.
Out are leading scorers Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna from last year’s team.
This year’s edition of the Pittsburgh Panthers is led by 6-foot-9, sophomore forward, Michael Young, who averages 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds.
Pittsburgh’s top perimeter player is 6-foot-1, junior guard, James Robinson, who is dropping 10.6 points and 4.5 assists on the stat sheet per game.
Those two players both play over 30 minutes per game for Pitt, and are relied upon heavily to make things work for the Panthers.
Jan 14, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Panthers forward Michael Young (2) goes to the basket against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half at the Petersen Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Overall, Pittsburgh goes about eight players deep in their rotation and averages 67.2 points per game while holding teams to 61.8 points per game.
The 61.8 points per game is the fourth best defensive total in the ACC. They are also the fifth best offensive rebounding team in the ACC snatching 222 total offensive rebounds this season.
Last time Georgia Tech was on the court with a team that could offensive rebound with them was the Wake Forest game that gave Danny Manning his first and only ACC win to date by a score of 76-69.
That game was on the road as well. and Tech simply lost to a Demon Deacons team that appeared to have a little more energy that early afternoon than they did.
This is a winnable game for Georgia Tech just like a few other games this season. The thing that needs to happen in this game for the Yellow Jackets is that they need to avoid the eight minute scoring drought.
The Jackets made Syracuse last week, and Notre Dame on Wednesday, look better than they really are because they could not buy a bucket with bailout money.
No one can say that Georgia Tech’s defensive effort and rebounding effort have not been present.
But putting the ball in the basket is what is going to get this team some wins. Eight minute droughts cannot happen.
That is where the unsureness derives from. Once the drought come, the team looks like a deer in headlights, not knowing how to get out of their own way.
Someone has to take charge when the Jackets look like they are going into their offensive slumber.
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It does not matter if it is Demarco Cox, who has averaged 15 points in the last two games, or Charles Mitchell demanding the ball with position in the block, or even Marcus Georges-Hunt deciding to drive to the hole with conviction, someone needs to say “move out the way, I’ve got this”, when the drought comes.
Georgia Tech is wasting great efforts defensively and on the boards because the team does not look confident offensively.
They have to play offensive basketball with conviction and meaning. It looks like the drought takes the life out of the team, and they have no way of getting their fire back.
We all know that Georgia Tech has not been blown out in any ACC games. If they could sustain offense, they would have a win or three right now.
This is the game where they need to take out some frustration on someone, and that someone is Pitt.
The game starts 4 PM EST on ACC Network and can be heard on local Atlanta radio on 680 AM and 93.7 FM. You can find the game on satellite radio as well on XM 193 and Sirius 92.